Le Central
112 E 8th Ave
Denver, CO 80203
www.lecentral.com
Attendees: Ang., Carol, Caroline, Jen, Katie, Lara, Marie, Rhonda
Here is how I remember our December dinner:
A handful of girls show up to Le Central a few minutes early for our 7:30 reservation. While we waited, we managed to throw down I forget how many rounds of martinis to kick off the evening...
Finally, we were seated in a lovely room at a long, roomy table, surrounded by soon-to-be victims of our soiree.
I remember a lot of talking and gabbing and finally deciding on many appetizers -- the most memorable being the escargot -- sopped up with bread -- amazing and tasty-good. I recall some tasty as always, mussels, and of course, the free-flowing wine.
And then appeared a surprise round of champagne from some fantastic person Katie associates with in the Rioja-world. (I think?!) Oh, it was bubbly and fun. M'hm.
Then a bunch more talking and loudness and then some more food -- I ordered a lovely piece of fish, a large piece of cod, accompanied by rice, cooked-to-perfection and still crunchy, green beans and some cabbage. I ate very little of it at the table because I had too many decadent appetizers but fortunately Le Central puts the leftovers in a nice, recyclable box (if you forgot your tupperware.) Then of course, more wine.
Somewhere in there was the surprise shot of something frenchy and that was probably the shot that sent most of us over the edge...
I believe we managed to close the place down. I think the staff wanted to kill us. But we had a great time once again at Le Central! I thank everyone and I hope they don't really hate us. Comment on... xoxo
5 comments:
Ooooh La Lah...Le Central…oh ma soirée est flou!!!
Thank the heavens, I took notes!
What a wonderful evening…complete with great company (as usual), fabulous wine (and spritis), delicious food, heavenly ambiance and at the end, presents!
What more could a girl ask for…
We had to wait, quite a bit considering we had 7:30 reservations and were not actually escorted to our table until after 8pm…but Jason at the bar, more than made up for it with his martini making acumen. I couldn’t really tell you how many I actually had but the man certainly understands “very dry, very dirty” very well.
Let’s see…we’ll start with the wine…we had a 2005 Chateau Les Berthets Premieres Cotes De Blaye Bordeaux…it was delicious.
And yes, there was some champagne courtesy of Katie’s pal, Scott at Rioja…which was very good. I’m not usually a big champagne kind of gal, but this was really good..fruity yet dry. I really liked it. (I wish I had written down the name of it.)
Food…we ordered all the escargot appetizers on the menu..all of them fantastic. One was really garlicky, one very bleu cheesy and the third one anise-y though not overpowering.
Then there was an order of mussels with shallots and bleu cheese and a salad with green and goat cheese on toast…both very good.
For dinner I had the Tartiflettes de Central…a yummy, creamy Munster cheese, potato and hickory ham casserole that was freakin’ fantanstic. (I had the rest of it cold later that night…still delicious.)
A couple of the gals partook of Le Central’s monthly special of goose. I have had goose (and duck) in the past and have never liked it…too dry, too gamey, to greasy…but this was different. In fact, it was the exact opposite of everything I have ever know goose or duck to be. Simply put, it was sublime.
Everything was absolutely perfectly cooked and scrumptious, I can say with absolute certainty as, per usual, I tried everyone’s dinner.
Then there was dessert…the standard crème brulee, a caramel custard of some sort and a mondo molten chocolate mousse that was light and fluffy and seriously sinful.
Then a shot…I should learn but I never do…I am overindulgent by nature I guess…but there it was…it had chocolate at the bottom of it and it was good.
Plus there were presents…which is always a great way to end the evening…especially for Katie who kept getting her gift “stolen” so she had to keep opening a new one.
All in all…though it is some what a blur it was another great dinner at Le Central. At the end we were the only ones in the restaurant but the staff was very gracious about the whole thing…I can’t really say that the other diners around us, for the duration of our dinner felt the same way.
Merci, Le Central and Joyeuses Fêtes!!!
The escargot and mussels at Le Central can’t be beat. The girls tried all their different types of escargot and they were all excellent. The French are known for their sauces and Le Central does a fine job. The blue cheese sauce that elegantly flavored one of the escargot dishes was pure bliss. I was full after this because I soaked up the sauce with French bread, but I kept going in my usual fashion of over indulgence.
Next, we all shared some mussels with blue cheese and white wine. Any type of mussels is a sure hit at Le Central. They are under $10 for a huge bowl with all you can eat frites. Wow. I was stuffed at this point, but again I kept going.
Katie and I ordered goose for dinner. I think it was really different from anything I usually order. I have heard goose is greasy, hard to cook, and most restaurants don’t do a good job. I went out on a limb anyways and it paid off. It was simply yummy. The goose was accompanied by crunchy green beans, some sort of apple/currant tapenade stuffing, and I think there were some potatoes in there. It all mixed well together and was a flavor explosion. I really enjoyed it and my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I don’t know how to describe the taste, as it was like nothing I have ever tried before. If you are thinking of a great place to go during the holidays and want something different, Le Central is your place.
Dessert, another thing Le Central gets right every time. Their crème brulee is the best, period, end of story. It is creamy, full of vanilla goodness, and the sugar coating on top is thick, caramel colored and crunchy. The chocolate soufflé was to die for too. It is like a warm and soft chocolate pillow that melted in your mouth. It is fun to eat! You must try one!
Le Central’s wine selection is always great and affordable. It is just a joy to go there, eat good food, and enjoy good wine without breaking the old bank (well not too badly). The service was top notch too. What a treat! It was the best service I have had in a restaurant in many years.
I will say my favorite part of this dinner was the company. I was in complete heaven with my favorite things being friends, and good food. Could anyone want anything else in life?
Okay, I'm going to try this again!
Le Central was a wonderful evening! I started out with a warm spiced wine. Yum! Especially after the cold walk to the restaurant! Then we had some yummy wine with our meal. The champagne was a wonderful surprise from Katie's work pal! Thanks!
I have no decided that I do not need to order a main dish at a French restaurant again. I absolutely love the apps and the desserts. That's all I need! The escargots were amazing! Dipping up the yummy sauce with the yummy bread was just plain...yummy! The mussels were great! Now I consider myself a French Fry expert! These were perfect! What else would you expect at a French restaurant?
My meal was good, but I had no room for it. It was the potatoes, cheese and bacon casserole. It was good, but it was not the best part of the meal.
The desserts were excellent! I think that was one of the best creme brulee I've ever had! The other desserts were good to, but not as amazing!
The presents were fun! I can't wait to use my hippie purse. I think a fun time was had by all! Except for maybe all the people around us! Sorry! sorta!
A wonderful evening was had by all! I absolutely love Le Central. From the atmosphere to the food, the wine and the waiters..... simply wonderful.
I ordered a steak and it was huge (it took up my whole plate!) and extremely delicious. It melted in my mouth. It was served with red cabbage that was an explosion of flavor in my mouth. I think I will ask if I can order extra red cabbage next time. Um Um good!
That was the first time I had tried escagot and it will not be the last! All three varieties were fabulous. The portions were enough for all of us to have a few bites of each one.....very nice. Loved the mussels....good thing, cuz there were bunches and bunches of them!
Dinnergirls Christmas celebration at Le Central. It just doesn't get any better than that!
xo
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